MALAYALAPPUZHADEVI TEMPLE, PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT, KERALA
Dear friends, Today my posting is about the famous Malayalappuzha DeviTemple, which is a Bhadrakali temple situated at Malayalappuzha inPathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is believed that the temple was built more than 1000 yearsago. The temple is about 10 KM from Pathanamthitta. Nearest Railway station isChengannur. Temple is on a small hill.Steps are there to reach the temple. The temple is close to my native Pandalam.My latest visit was when a Mahayanjam conducted in the temple about 10 yearsago. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 22-4-2025. LEGEND Once upon a time, two revered members of the Namboothiricaste from northern Travancore—belonging to the Aikireth Illam andEravimangalath Illam —undertook a sacred pilgrimage to the holy shrine ofMookambika. With them, they carried an idol of Bhadrakali, to whom they devotedthemselves in deep and prolonged meditation. Moved by their unwavering devotion, Goddess Bhadrakalibestowed upon them a divine oracle, proclaiming that her perpetual presence would dwell within the idol theybore. Empowered by this divine revelation, the two Namboothirisresumed their pilgrimage, bearing the sacred idol with reverence. After a few years of travel with the idol to find where toconsecrate the idol, the Goddess againmanifested before them—this time to guide them to their final destination. She revealed that Malayalappuzha was the most auspicious land toenshrine her divine form.Obedient to her command, the Namboothiris continued their journey toMalayalappuzha and consecrated the idol, establishing what would become apowerful and revered temple of Bhadrakali. To this day, the descendants of the Aikireth Illam andEravimangalath Illam faithfully perform the daily rituals and poojas,preserving the sacred legacy passed down through generations, and continuing toserve the divine. There is modification of the legend that the original installationwas on a place below Edathattil hill , in the planes and a magician fromMalayalappuzha transferred the power to his locality in a new idol by him andinstalled there. Even today there is worship in the original temple of theGoddess and lot of devotees gather there on the first of every Malayalam month. Architecture The temple, believed to be over 1,000 years old, features amedium-sized structure with a majestic gopuram at the eastern entrance. The architectural layout includes a small Namaskara Mandapa,a chuttambalam (enclosure), and a Balikkalpura (sacrificial altar). The innersanctum, which is rectangular, houses a mukhamandapam (entrance porch), addingto the temple's spiritual ambiance. Malayalapuzha Devi Temple features beautifulwall paintings and artistic stone carvings. Deities Main deity In the temple, Bhadrakali is seen in a ferocious form soonafter the killing of the demon, Darika. The main idol is 5.5 feet high, made from katu sarkara yogam. Inaddition to this idol, two other idols are also erected inside the sanctumsanctorum; one used for abhisheka and the other for sreebali, a daily ritual. 'Katu Sarkara Yogam'- This intricate technique involvescombining several materials like different types of wood, clay, Ayurvedicherbs, milk, ghee, jaggery, turmeric, sandalwood, camphor, gold, silver, sand,and natural glue, all symbolizing various aspects of the human body. This idolis consecrated through a Tantric ritual called Prana Prathishta, which imbuesit with life and energy. Sub deities The temple features aunique statue of Goddess Parvati feeding baby Ganapathy on her lap. An idol of Veera Bhadra can be seenon the entry to the sanctum. Other sub deities in the temple are Brahma Rakshas, Nagaraja and aswayambu Shiva Linga. Poojas 5:00 AM: Nirmalyam 6:00 AM: Usha Pooja 6:20 AM: Ethruthu Pooja 8:20 AM: Pantheeradi Pooja 11:00 AM: Kalasha Pooja 11:30 AM: Ucha Pooja 6:30 PM: Deeparadhana 7:20 PM: Athazha Pooja Festivals The annual festival is celebrated for 11 days. The festivalstarts on the Thiruvathira nakshtra in the Kumba masam (February – March).Kathakali is conducted on the fourth and fifth day. Malayalapuzha Devi Temple is a hub of vibrant festivities.Significant events like VinayakaChathurthi, Navarathri, and Sivarathri are celebrated with great pomp.The temple's annual festival commences on the day of the star Thiruvathira inKumbham (February–March) and includes the Aarattu ritual on theeleventh day, involving the ceremonial dipping of the deity in a temple tank orriver. Tuesdays and Fridays,traditional days of worship in Devi temples, witness a surge ofdevotees. The annual festival at the temple falls on the day of thestar sign Thiruvathira in Kumbham (February–March) as per the lunisolar Hinducalendar. The aarattu falls on the eleventh day, the last day of the festival,when the deity is taken out in a grand procession for a ritualistic bathingceremony. Thiruvonam on chingam, Ayilya Pooja On Kanni, Navarathri,Vrichika Chirappu, Makara Samkramam, Pongala and Ulsavam On kumbham, Vishu OnMedam, Niraputhari On Karkidakam are other festival days. WORSHIPING Malayalapuzha Devi is believed to grant boons for extendingprosperity to all the devotees. The goddess is worshiped for protecting thedevotee from enemies, getting the unmarried girls married, obtaining job forthe unemployed, and helping businesses flourish. This popular belief and faithmakes the temple visited by devotees from far locations. The devi is also known as GoddessIdathattil Bhagwathi Devotees visit thetemple for For recovering stolen goods people offer Thoniyari Payasam(Payasam made of 36 ¼ para (Para is approximately 14 kg) of rice People believe that offer of Payasam made of with 101Nazhi(120 ml) of rice, coconut milk , jaggery and 101 banana fruits offered tothe goddess leads to fulfilment of our desires and success in business. Ladies offer Manjadi seeds (Adenanthera pavonina Linn.) tothe Goddess for increase of breast milk. This same seed , after taking it round their head hair isoffered by ladies near the flag post for luxurious hair growth. Offer of arecanut , betel leaves , tobacco and camphor to theGoddess at the sanctum is believe help us fulfil our desires. The sacred ash that you get back from the temple after thisoffer should be kept in the prayer room. People believe that within a yeartheir desires would be fulfilled. People believe that whenwe make requests to the Goddess , if a honey bee from outside enters theSanctum sanctorum and returns back in our presence then our desire would definitelybe fulfilled. A peculiar belief There is another very peculiar belief in the temple. It isbelieved that the soul of the devotees of the Goddess , after deathcomes and stays in the temple. So their sons/daughters come to the temple along with apiece of sandalwood packed in a red silk, make the soul enter that and take itout . This is called Chavirakkal (removal of death) Farmers pray that they will give a part of the harvest oftheir field and take a cloth from the temple, write on it that the producebelongs to the Goddess. People believe that if this is done then theft of theproduce from their field is prevented . This is called “MalayalappuzhaThoopu” People also worship the Brahma Rakshas which is on the eastof the temple for getting rid of ghosts , devils and evil magic affecting them.Offering of Mangalya to the Goddess to get married quickly is also done. Peculiar Konna tree Just outside the temple The Naga Raja also is consecrated.Near it is an Konna tree which flowers daily all the year long. Below it a Shiva Lingawhich Is Swayambu is there . Peoplebelieve that this Shiva linga keeps on growing. People believe that if thisShiva linga is bathed with tender coconut water, immediate rain will result. Unlike other Bhagwathi temples , there is no practice (asked to be discontinued by the Goddess) of drawing her figure using rice powder, turmeric , saffron etc. but the usual singing ofher story is done there without it. Another peculiar custom of the temple is that the procession carrying thedeity turns left (ie clockwise) and because of this people called this GoddessIdathattil Bhagwathi( Bhagawathi of the left). Visiting Hours The temple is open for darshan from 5 AM to 1 PM and in theevening 5 PM to 8 PM. Visitor Information The best time to visit Malayalapuzha Bhagavathy Temple isfrom October to March, when the weather is cool and pleasant, making it idealfor temple visits and sightseeing. The festival season, particularly during Malayalapuzha Pooram, isalso a great time to experience the cultural vibrancy of the temple. How to Reach Chengannur Railway Station, around 33 km, is the nearestmajor station for those coming in train. Trivandrum International Airport isthe nearest air terminal around 107 km away. PathanamthittaKSRTC Bus Stand, about 9 km away Address: Kumbazha - Malayalapuzha Rd, Malayalapuzha - MannarakulanjiRd, Malayalapuzha- Kerala 689666 Phone: 0471 232 1132 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/441267800.159408.1745306111210%40mail.yahoo.com.
